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  Coral Reef on the backside of Anacapa’s West Island is actually a series of four reefs. There is the inner east and west reefs, the middle reef, and outer reef (out and slightly to the east). The inner reefs abut the island and run in depth from 25 to 40 feet. It can be a bit surge here, but if you hit it on a calm day you can be treated to channels with kelp towering above and shallow reef fish in the crevices. Look for green abalone in the dark crevices up near its kelp food. Once very abundant, a few snails have remained to hopefully repopulate the area. Don’t touch! These simple animals are protected.
 

The best diving is on the outer edges of the middle and outer reef. The stretches of sand that separate the middle from the inner, and outer from the middle, are not large. It is short enough, as a matter of fact, that on a day of good visibility (which is not unusual) it is possible to see two reefs from the middle of the sand flats. Depths between the inner middle reefs is 55 feet, slightly deeper between the middle and outer. The sand flats are a beautiful warm ivory color, made up mostly of bits of shells. It is a wonderful place to be when the sun shines high at noon. The high level of animal activity on the sand hints at what is in store on the reef. Across the flats you will find large pink short-spined stars and lumbering sheep crabs, a kind of spider crab that can be easily approached, but keep clear of those powerful pinchers. Bat rays are also common here. Pacific Ocean coral reefs are some of the world's healthiest overall; about 70 percent are rated in good-to-excellent condition. But 30 percent are rated fair-to-poor—many are dying, and human impacts are growing: The region's extremely diverse corals, mangroves, and sea grasses are pressured by deforestation, agriculture, construction, and pollution. Those in the best shape are off Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea's atolls, New Zealand's Cook Islands, and the Micronesian nations of the Caroline Islands.
In Polynesia, Hawaii is located in extreme geographic isolation. Natural disasters such as heavy wave action, cyclones and earthquakes disturb coral reef growth. Land clearing, agricultural development, dredging, over fishing, and tourism are some of the human factors which effect reefs. There is no comprehensive monitoring program in place to better assess the causes and consequences of coral reef ecosystem decline. The waters surrounding American Samoa are mainly dominated by fringing reefs. Crown-of-thorns starfish infestations in the late 1970s and more recent devastating storms have reduced live coral cover below normal levels. Results of recent surveys show reefs are in poor condition except for those off Olosega Island and Rose Atoll. Reef fish populations are depleted, and industrial pollution has further degraded the coral reef ecosystem in Pago Pago Harbor. The volcanic islands of Western Samoa are mostly surrounded by fringing reefs.